Dashboard and side window mounted reflected glare shield

ABSTRACT

A dashboard or side window mounted reflected glare shield to be positioned within the passenger compartment of a motor vehicle either adjacent to the windshield or attached to a vehicle door frame via a holder to absorb and intercept light rays or reflected glare. The glare shield is formed of a thin sheet, like cardboard that is inscribed with horizontal fold lines and reinforced with one or more malleable wires that are inserted into the sheet thus allowing the user to adjust the shield as desired for use so that it will hold the shape into which it is molded until it is readjusted. The shield may be inscribed with markings that are kept covered with a dark material that can be removed so that the shield may be used as an emergency road sign.

This is a division of Ser. No. 07/410,806, filed 09/22/89 now U.S. Pat.No. 5,002,327.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

(A) This invention relates to a means for arresting direct sun rays andreflected glare from sun or other light sources shining throughtransparent windshields and/or side windows of motor vehicles,airplanes, motor boats or other vehicle bodies so as to prevent thedriver or person occupying a seat adjacent to a vehicle door windowbeing subjected to annoyance or discomfort from direct sunlight orreflected glare either while the vehicle is traveling or when it isstopped.

(B) Description of the Prior Art

Devices for shielding the interior and occupants of a vehicle againstsunlight and reflected glare that are used in association with thewindshield or side door windows have been known in the past. Today'sautomobiles are provided with sun visors to intercept and block overheadrays of the sun so that they do not interfere with the visibility orcomfort of the driver and vehicle passengers. Still other shields havebeen developed for use in the windshield to intercept light rays.Crowell U.S. Pat. No. 2,253,766, (11/27/39) developed an eye protectingmeans for vehicles to protect the driver or a front seat passenger fromrays of light that may be used when the vehicle is being used. Shadeshave been developed that attach semipermanently to the side windows toblock sun rays that may be used when a vehicle is parked. Roark, U.S.Pat. No. 2,665,166 (8/20/51), developed a permanently attached car-sidesun visor that was permanently mounted on a vehicle door frame. Nagy,U.S. Pat. No. 4065171 (12/27/77) developed an adjustable free-standingglare shield adapted to be positioned adjacent to the windshield of anautomobile without impairing the vision of the driver. However, nofree-standing or easily attached shield has been developed that isadapted to be used interchangeably in the windshield or side doorwindows of a vehicle or mounted in a position so as to protect the armof the driver that is closest to the vehicle door prior to this patentor that can be mounted so as to protect the arm of the driver on theside closest to the door and that will remain in a flexed position whenso adjusted.

SUMMARY OF INVENTION

The purpose of this invention is to provide a device adapted primarilyfor association with the windshields and/or side windows of motorvehicles to prevent direct or indirect sun rays from shining on the lap,arms or face of occupants on the front seat of the vehicle.

An additional objective of the invention is in providing a simple andconvenient device whereby the driver or occupant of a motor vehicle caneasily adjust the rectangular shield within the vehicle body, so as toassume positions at various angles upwardly or downwardly and laterallyas required to prevent direct sun rays and reflected glare fromimpairing the vision of the driver and occupants.

A still further object of the invention resides in the provision of asun and reflected glare arresting device for motor vehicles that isinexpensive to manufacture, simple in construction and operation, doesnot require a permanent attachment to the motor vehicle and is highlyefficient for the purposes intended.

The embodiment of the invention herein disclosed is merely illustrative,and may be modified and departed from in non-inventive ways withoutdeparting from the scope of the invention as pointed out hereinafter andlimited solely by the appended claims.

To the attainment of the above stated objects and others, which willappear as the features of novelty of the invention are betterunderstood, the invention further resides in the novel features ofconstruction, arrangement, combination and association of parts, apractical embodiment of which is disclosed by the accompanying drawings.The shield holder is only used in association with the side windowapplication of the dashboard or side window mounted reflected glareshield.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

Referring to the drawings forming a part of this specification, andwherein like characters of reference denote similar parts through theseveral views, there are two components that perform the necessaryfunction of dashboard or side window mounted reflected glare shield:shield holder and shield.

FIG. 1 is an elevation showing the construction of the dashboard or sidewindow mounted reflection glare shield.

FIG. 2 is an elevation showing the dashboard or side window mountedreflected glare shield adjusted in a flexed position.

FIG. 3 is an elevation showing the construction of the shield holder,shown as an independent necessary component of the invention.

FIG. 4 is a fragmented, cross sectional view showing how the shield ismounted in the holder which is mounted in the motor vehicle door windowslot.

FIG. 5 is a view, in perspective, of a cut away of a windshieldstructure showing 10 the shield placed against the windshield andresting on the dashboard cowling.

FIG. 6 is a fragmented perspective view showing the present invention asused on a vehicle dashboard to protect the driver from glare reflectedfrom the hood of a motor vehicle.

FIG. 7 is a side elevation of the dashboard or side window mountedreflected glare shield mounted in a shield holder that is mounted in thedoor window frame. In this instance, the dashboard or side windowmounted reflected glare shield is mounted in a flat perpendicularposition to provide maximum shield in a parked vehicle. The door windowE is the standard roll down type window found universally used and movedwith electric motors or hand cranked with inside and outside frames andrubber gaskets supporting the glass.

FIG. 8 is a side elevation of dashboard or side window mounted reflectedglare shade in the door window frame. In this instance, the foldedportion covers the arm of the driver on the left side, while allowingthe driver to view the mirror mounted on the driver's side at all times.

FIG. 9 is a front elevation of the dashboard or side window mountedreflected glare shield placed in position inside the windshield with thecovering material removed, revealing the fluorescent symbols.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The present invention, is described with reference to each of theFigures.

FIG. 1 shows the construction of the dashboard and side window mountedreflected glare shield. The shield is shown as comprising a rectangularshaped flat piece of material such as corrugated cardboard (10) withrounded corners (11). Three separately thin malleable wires (12) areinserted vertically through the shield in such a manner as to beinvisible. The wires (12) allows the shield to remaining the position towhich it is bent by the user. The back side of the shield has printedlines (13) to show where it should be scored for folding to accommodatethe line of vision of the driver according to his or her height. Theshield's surfaces are completely covered with a dark color, so that theywill not be reflected in the windshield. Letters or symbols (14) areprinted on the front side of the shield in 5 inch or larger letters of areflective color. The symbols are covered with a piece of dark material(15) which is temporarily adhered to the surface of the shield when theshield is used as a protection from sunlight or glare as shown inFIG. 1. When required, the material can be peeled away to reveal themessage and the shield placed where desired so as to be seen.

FIG. 2 shows the shield (10) is scored and bent along one of the linesprinted on its inside surface (13). The wires inserted into the shield(12) enable the shield to retain the shape to which it is adjusted,wherever it is positioned.

FIG. 3 shows the construction of the shield holder, referred to as 31h.The shield holder is constructed of flat, light but rigid material suchas plastic. It is made up of a long rectangular flat piece (21) that hasa bevel on the lower end (21b), a spacer bar (22) and a smaller flatpiece (23). The large piece (21) is bonded to the bar (22) at itscenter; so that the large piece (21) extends on both sides, top andbottom from the bar. The beveled end (21b) of the large piece is placedso as to project downward. Also attached to the bar (22) is a secondpiece (23) that is attached at the bottom to the bar (22) and projectsto the same height as the first piece (21) so that a slot (S) is formedto accommodate the shield (11).

Numerous configurations of the shield holder may be employed inpracticing the present invention.

FIG. 4 shows how the shield holder (31h) will fit into a vehicle doorwindow frame slot (D) with the long flat piece (21) against the insidewindow glass (G). The long flat piece (21) slides between the rubberwindow support gasket (R) and the window glass (G) as shown. This mountwill accommodate the shield and hold it snugly in place in a horizontalor vertical position. It will also allow it to be adjusted for maximumunobstructed view and shade by lateral or various angles upwardly ordownwardly to suit the driver and occupants.

FIG. 5 shows the shield (10) as fitting snugly between the windshield(C) and the dashboard cowling (A) of a motor vehicle in such a way thatthe shield (10) is held in place by friction created by both theinternal malleable wires (12) and scored-fold (13) referred to in FIG.2. It also allows the shield to be shifted laterally for bettereffectiveness as required.

FIG. 6 shows the dashboard or side window mounted reflected glare shield(10) mounted in the windshield (C) of a motor vehicle so as to provide ashield from reflected glare (B) without limiting the field of vision ofthe driver (X).

FIG. 7 shows the dashboard or side window mounted reflected glare shield(10), mounted in the side window opening (D) of a motor vehicle byinserting the shield holder into the window frame along the lowermostinside edge of the window opening. For this application, the operatorplaces the shield (10) in the slotted shield holder (31h), see FIG. 3(S) which allows lateral positioning of the shield for improvedeffectiveness.

FIG. 8 shows the shield (10) is alternately placed in a horizontalflexed orientation, mounted in the shield holder (31h) in the window(D), see FIG. 7, and adjusted to protect the arm of the driver from thesun. This is accomplished by bending the shield along the fold (13) asshown in FIGS. 1 and 2, which can be adjusted to allow the driver normalvision of the side rear view mirror. For the applications shown in FIGS.7 and 8, the dashboard or side window mounted reflected glare shield canbe attached to motor vehicles by merely inserting the shield holder(31h) in the window slot as shown in FIG. 7 and placing the shield (10)in a vertical, flat horizontal or folded horizontal position in theshield holder. Due to this simplified mounting capability, the dashboardor side window mounted reflected glare shield can be conveniently fittedon the side door windows of most existing motor vehicles of variousdesigns and configurations. The broken lines in FIGS. 7 and 8 marked Brefer to direct sunlight.

In FIG. 9, the dashboard or side window mounted reflected glare shield(10) is shown in an application as a sign to summon aid, placed in thewindshield (C) of a motor vehicle with the symbols (14) exposed.

I claim:
 1. In a motor vehicle having a side door and a side doorwindow, a device for sun ray and glare protection comprising:anelongated thin flat rectangular shield; said shield including means forbending said shield along a horizontal axis, and having at least oneinternal stiffening means inserted therein; and means for mounting saidshield to said side door window.
 2. A device as recited in claim 1,wherein said means for mounting is inserted between said side door andsaid side door window.
 3. A device as recited in claim 1, wherein saidmeans for mounting comprises two rectangular flat pieces held apart by aspacer bar, whereby said shield is inserted into said means for mountingbetween said rectangular flat pieces.
 4. A device as recited in claim 3,wherein an end of one of said rectangular flat pieces is insertedbetween said side door and said side door windows.
 5. A device asrecited in claim 1, wherein said internal stiffening means comprises atleast one malleable wire inserted into the shield at an angle to saidhorizontal axis.